VIC Committee
Rod Keenan (Chair)
Keith Maplestone (Secretary)
Danielle Read
Gavin Livingston
Gary Featherston
David Dore
Jan Newport
Jo Lewis
Email: ifavicdivision@gmail.com
Victorian Division Strategic Plan
The incoming Victorian Division committee and invited members met in December 2020 to develop a strategic plan for the Division from 2021-23. Incoming Chair of the Division, Professor Rod Keenan, invites Victorian-based members to review the plan and indicate their interest in supporting its implementation.
Please contact Rod Keenan rkeenan@unimelb.edu.au or Secretary, Keith Maplestone kmaplestone@hotmail.com to indicate your interest
To download Strategic plan 2021-2023 – 2021 Review, click HERE
To download Victorian Committee Report 2021, click HERE
Ballarat
Contacts:
Gary Featherston (President)
Gib Wettenhall (Secretary)
Recreating The Country Debut on YouTube
Last year, the Ballarat Region Treegrowers/AFG published the book “Recreating the Country” written by Steve Murphy, and this year we began a model ‘biorich plantation’ program based on the principles in the book.
Stephen Oakes, a local film maker, was commissioned by BRT/AFG to produce a short video on the planting. His video is now on Youtube.
We hope you will watch it and use it to spread the word. We hope to update the video next year when the second stage of planting occurs, and over the next 5-10 years to show how the ‘biorich plantation’ develops.
“Recreating The Country” video on YouTube
Portable and Conventional Sawmilling Systems
Gary Waugh from Forest Products Consultancy gave a presentation Portable and conventional sawmilling systems at a field day organised by Ballarat Region Treegrowers, Timber Industry Training Centre and Victorian Landcare Centre, DPI.
To view the presentation click on the link below.
Portable and conventional sawmilling systems presentation
FFORNE (Farmed Forests of the North East)
Contacts:
John Steer (President)
About the Branch
The FFORNE group was initially formed as the North East Victoria branch of Australian Forest Growers (AFG). The group is now known as FFORNE (or Farmed Forests of the North East (Victoria)) and is a branch of Forestry Australia (formerly IFA/AFG).
The FFORNE group has a committee of seven which meets regularly via internet and organises one or two events a year across North East Victoria.
The groups Guiding Principles or Mission Statement are:
- To promote the practice of farm-forestry
- To provide a forum for farm-forestry landowners so as to assist individuals’ needs
- To connect FFORNE members to the wider farm-forestry community
The Committee regularly provide free updates to their email list of persons interested in farm forestry across the North East. If you wish to learn more about the FFORNE group and/or become involved in activities please email: john.steer1@bigpond.com
Gippsland Agroforestry Network
Contacts:
Peter Devonshire (President)
David Bennett (Secretary)
Bob Gray (Treasurer)
About the Branch
The Gippsland Agroforestry Network was formed in 1992 as the first Agroforestry Network and is now a regional Branch of Australian Forest Growers.
The Network is non-profit, and interested in developing a profitable and sustainable timber industry in Gippsland, based on the production of wood from farm plantations and private native forests. It brings together farmers, professional foresters, landcarers, nursery owners, contractors, sawmillers, advisors and those who just have an interest.
The Network holds regular meetings, field days and farm walks where a variety of topics are addressed. The Network also has various items of establishment and pruning equipment which are loaned free to members.
Agroforestry or Farm Forestry
Agroforestry, or “farm forestry” as it is more often called these days, is the integration of productive trees into the agricultural landscape.While the benefits of trees to agriculture, the environment and our sense of well-being are well known, the ability of properly planned, established and managed trees to contribute significantly to farm incomes is often not appreciated.
Whilst government support for farm forestry has recently dropped dramatically, local and national groups are getting on with the job of supplying environmentally responsible timber in a climate where access to native forests is becoming more restricted. Markets for environmental services, especially carbon, are rapidly emerging. World timber demand is generally expected to exceed supply over the next 20 years, so industry in Australia is currently working to dramatically increase our plantation area. Although the figure is dropping slowly, Australia continues to run annual deficits of almost $2 billion in forest products, so there’s ample opportunity for import replacement. Farm forestry can make a significant contribution to this target, especially if farm foresters organise themselves into local groups with regional and national affiliations. To further the cause in Gippsland we have the Gippsland Agroforestry Network, Farm Forest Growers, Victoria., and Australian Forest Growers respectively.